A/N. No, I'm not dead or MIA, just prisoner of DRL. This is a "teaser" for a long story that's been in the works for over two years now, where Darth Vader survives DS2 and has to deal with the aftermath. This little snippet is after the start of Dark Empire, timeline-wise. Without saying too much more and risking ruining the story, it suffices to know that Leia is training with him at the moment.

The buzzing of the doorbell surprised Leia from her meditation. Since Anakin was having one of his bad days and had not yet been able to leave his bed, she went to the door to answer it, trying to think of who it might be. Customers usually contacted them in advance about machines needing repair, and neither Sari nor her family ever bothered to ring the bell, having standing invitations. She opened the door to see no one. Puzzled, she took a step outside and instantly found herself in a crushing hug.

"Hello, your Highness," her attacker said.

"Han!" she gasped, shocked. She pulled away just enough to see his face. "What in chaos are you doing here?"

He grinned rakishly. "So I'm not allowed to fly across the galaxy to see my wife? What kind of welcome is that?"

"I'm glad to see you, but why?"

His eyes darkened. "Trouble on Coruscant. It seems our old buddy is trying to take over again."

"The Emperor?"

"Yes. We thought it'd be best to leave. The kids are in the Falcon with Chewie. Came here because we figured no one would find us."

"What happened?"

"Some sort of loyalist group, sleeper agents maybe, started some major riots and there've been some attempted assassinations. The violence was getting bad enough that they wanted anyone connected to you or other major officials off-planet."

"Any word about Luke?" She dreaded the answer.

"He was spotted briefly on Coruscant a couple of days ago. Nothing more than that."

She closed her eyes. "I'm not ready to face him yet."

"When will you be ready?"

"I'm not sure. Father would know better than I."

Han looked distinctly uncomfortable at the mention of his former enemy. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Inside. I should let him know that you're here. I've been staying with him, but there's not room for all of us. Maybe the Ordines would be willing to put you up."

"Who's that?"

"Neighbors. Their daughter is close friends with Father."

"Well, let's get this over with," Han said, walking towards the door.

She took the lead, opening the door and leading him to the workroom. "Stay here."

"What, don't trust me with your old man?"

She ignored him. "I'm going to see if he's up to visitors." With that, she donned a mask and headed into the main room. Her father's door was still closed, but she could feel that he was awake, though in considerable pain. Hesitantly, she cracked the door open, unwilling to disturb him.

"Father?" He turned slowly to look at her. "I…we have some unexpected visitors."

"Who?"

"My family. There's trouble on Coruscant and Han decided to come here to keep the twins safe."

His eyes widened and he moved to sit up, but fell back, hissing in pain as the movement aggravated stiff joints and inflamed joins between prosthetics and flesh. "Help me up," he said.

"Are you sure? You don't have to meet them today."

"Positive," he said through gritted teeth. Against her better judgment, she helped him sit up and swing his legs over the side of the bed. Without a word she picked up the cane a customer had made for him and handed it to him. He gave it a look of distain but knew as well as she that he had no choice if he wanted to be mobile. With her help, he stood up, leaning heavily on the length of wood.

"Are they here now?"
"Han is. The children and Chewie are still in the Falcon. Should I go get them?"

He nodded. She helped him out of the room to the main area where he carefully settled into one of the chairs, grimacing as he did so, but waving her off as she tried to offer any further assistance.

"Go see your children," he ordered. "I know you want to."

Leia smiled sheepishly. "You know me too well. I'll be right back."

At his nod, she returned to the workroom where Han was pacing. "Sorry," she apologized.

Her husband looked vaguely uncomfortable. "Do you think I'd be able to talk to him before the kids get here?"

Her eyes narrowed. "About what?"

He squirmed a bit. "Stuff."

"Stuff," she repeated, dubious.

"Hey, it's me. I'm not gonna hurt him."

She sighed and gave in. "Fine. Where is the Falcon?" He gave her the docking number and she gave him a quick hug before heading out the door, anxious to see her children after nearly four months absence.

After making sure that Leia was gone, Han picked up the mask she had carelessly thrown on the workbench, carefully fitting it over his own face. From what she had told him, her father couldn't breathe normal air, only pure oxygen at high pressures. While not fatal for him to go in unprotected, he would quickly become dizzy, the last thing he wanted when confronting one of his greatest enemies.

He took a deep breath and palmed open the door. It led to a smaller room with a handful of chairs. In one of them sat his father-in-law. He'd never gone with Leia to the medbay on Home One and so was quite unprepared for what he saw. He'd always imagined that Vader had been, well, not so human-looking. As she had warned, he looked frail and tired, his posture indicating that the simple act of sitting in a chair was almost more than he was capable of.

"Han Solo," he said, voice little more than a rasp.

"The one and only," he shot back, nerves on edge.

Anakin gestured vaguely with one hand. "Please, sit down."

Warily, he sat in the chair but didn't let himself get comfortable. All he could think of was their last confrontation and how well that had turned out.

"So you are Leia's husband," Anakin said simply. "Congratulations. I only wish I could have been there for the wedding."

That threw him for a loop.

"You're okay with that?"

"Is there a reason that I shouldn't be?"

"Well, I'm not exactly princess-marrying material, if you get my drift."

"Do you love her?"

"More than life."

"Then I don't mind that my daughter is married to a former smuggler." There was a hint of a smile on his face at that.

Han smiled his famous lopsided grin. "You sure about that?"

"Very. As long as the two of you are happy I have nothing to complain about. A true partner is something rare indeed, and from what Leia has told me, she's found one in you."

"Thanks," he said, not knowing what else to say to that. Silence fell between them, not quite companionable, but comfortable, nonetheless.

"So did you ever have someone like that?" Han asked suddenly.

Anakin's gaze grew sad. "Once," he said, so softly Han barely heard him. "But I lost her when I turned to the darkside."

"I'm sorry" was the only response Han could come up with, though it seemed inadequate.

"So am I," he said simply. "And I apologize for my actions on Bespin. What I did to you and to my children was wrong, no matter my motivations."

Han was a little taken aback, but covered it with a grin. "Well, we all survived. Though I don't want to be frozen in carbonite again any time soon."

"If you don't mind my asking, what was it like?"

"Awful. Felt like I was being burned alive."

Anakin shuddered visibly. "I can testify to the unpleasantness of that."

"So that's the reason for suit?"

"Yes. I was on the losing end of a battle and fell to the edge of a lava stream. The gases and heat from the lava resulted in permanent damage."

"Ouch."

"Indeed."

Neither really had much to say after that, both content to wait for Leia to return with the children.

Stay tuned for more of the full story in (hopefully) the near future. Until then, may the Force be with you!